Notre-Dame de Paris is very old, over 800 years old!
Appointed bishop of Paris in 1160, Maurice de Sully decided to give the capital a cathedral worthy of France’s largest city. He wanted to build it in the style of the day, now known as the Gothic style. King Louis VII, one of his classmates, encouraged the project.The Church, notable residents of the city, and the entire population participated in construction: some offered money, others offered their labor, while others offered their knowledge. Construction began in 1163, and Notre-Dame would be completed some 100 years later, in 1272. During this time, many craftsmen’s guilds (tailors, sculptors, carpenters, joiners, masons, and glassblowers) worked relentlessly under the supervision of seasoned architects. They all made an equal contribution to God and to Mary. Mary, Mother of God, to whom Maurice wanted to dedicated the entire cathedral, it was dedicated to her, Notre-Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris! At the cathedral, there are no fewer than 37 representations of the Virgin (sculptures,paintings, stained glass, and more).
Above is a picture of Notre-Dame's beautiful rose window from the outside. It looks even more amazing from the inside!
The main facade of Notre-Dame also has three horizontal registers, with the entrance portals at the ground floor, topped by a round, centered rose window, which allows light into the nave entrance. The rose window is flanked by bifurcated (two-part) arched windows on either side. The registers are then divided by a frieze of carved figures standing in niches.
This is the nave of Notre-Dame. This type of ceiling is called vaulted, Notre-Dame has flying buttresses on its exterior to help hold it up.
and is similar to others we have seen in class.
On the interior, sophisticated vaulting and supports allowed for larger stained-glass windows that let more light into the building. The vaulted ceilings were more open and spacious than in Romanesque structures, with thinner columns that provided a more "weightless" appearance. The pointed arches also allowed for a taller ceiling and more wall space for fenestration than the Romanesque round arch provided.
These are the Gothic features adapted for use at Notre Dame. With more fenestration came the need for more sophisticated buttressing; the first use of true flying buttresses is found at Notre Dame, where the buttresses are attached to the upper register of the outer clerestory wall and then "fly" out from the wall, attaching again into the outer walls of the lower-level side aisles and area. Pinnacles top the areas where the buttresses angle into the side walls, and these bring more vertical weight down into the wall supports. Flying buttresses are a crucial feature of Gothic architecture. The additional support is certainly needed, given the large windows in relation to the masonry walls. The more traditional attached buttresses, such as are seen at Saint-Étienne at Caen, would have obscured the windows. In addition, Gothic churches are typically built on a Latin-cross plan, with a long vaulted nave flanked by lower side aisles, a transept with side doors at the crossing of the church, and a well-lit choir area, some-times with an ambulatory circling around the choir and chapels radiating from the ambulatory.
St. Denis
St. Denis:
The Abbey Church of Saint Denis, also known as the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis, is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. This site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery, in late Roman times. Around 475 CE, St. Genevieve established a church at this site. In the 7th century, this structure was replaced by a much grander construction, on the orders of Dagobert I, King of the Franks.
The Basilica of Saint Denis is an architectural landmark, the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style. Both stylistically and structurally, it heralded the change from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture. Before the term "Gothic" came into common use, it was known as the "French Style. "
Saint Denis is a patron saint of France and, according to legend, was the first bishop of Paris. Legend relates that he was decapitated on the Hill of Montmartre and subsequently carried his head to the site of the current church, indicating where he wanted to be buried.
Saint Denis Basilica, built under the supervision of Abbot Suger, heralded Europe’s shift from Romanesque to Gothic. The difference can be seen in its pointed arch, the ribbed vault, the ambulatory with radiating chapels, the clustered columns supporting ribs springing in different directions and the flying buttresses which enabled the insertion of large clerestory windows.
The nave of St. Denis is in the shape of the cross.
Be like ancient Rome
Carrying on this Romanesque value, the Gothic looks back to the lost fathers of learning in Rome and Greece for knowledge and wisdom.
“A new nave was also projected, but its construction never progressed beyond the foundations, the remains of which indicate that it would have been atypical for its period in having double side aisles and columnar supports, characteristics that were probably meant to evoke earlier churches either in Rome (e.g. Old Saint Peter’s) or in Paris itself” h
This Basilica is what makes Saint Denis a Cathedral; he is buried under this elaborate concrete memorial.
In the 7th century, at the burial place of Saint Denis, Eligius “fabricated a mausoleum for the holy martyr Denis in the city of Paris with a wonderful marble ciborium over it marvelously decorated with gold and gems. He composed a crest [at the top of a tomb] and a magnificent frontal and surrounded the throne of the altar with golden axes in a circle. He placed golden apples there, round and jeweled. He made a pulpit and a gate of silver and a roof for the throne of the altar on silver axes. He made a covering in the place before the tomb and fabricated an outside altar at the feet of the holy martyr. So much industry did he lavish there, at the king’s request, and poured out so much that scarcely a single ornament was left in Gaul and it is the greatest wonder of all to this very day.”
Florence Cathedral
The eye-catching facade of Florence's Duomo is made of poly-chrome panels of green, white, and red marble. But this design is not the original. The exterior that one sees today was completed only in the late 19th century.
Florence's cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo, is the city's symbol and most recognizable building. This iconic church also has a fascinating history. Florence's Duomo was built upon the remains of the fourth century cathedral of Santa Reparata. It was initially designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296, but its main feature - the massive dome - was engineered according to the plans of Filippo Brunelleschi. He won the commission to plan and build the dome after winning a design competition, which pitted him against other Florentine artists and architects, including Lorenzo Ghiberti. Work on the dome began in 1420 and was completed in 1436.
Brunelleschi's dome was the most ambitious architectural and engineering projects of its time. Before Brunelleschi submitted his design proposal, the construction of the cathedral's dome had been stalled because it had been determined that building a dome of its size was impossible without the use of flying buttresses. Brunelleschi's understanding of some of the key concepts of physics and geometry helped him solve this problem and win the design competition. His plan for the dome included inner and outer shells which were held together with a ring and rib system. Brunelleschi's plan also employed a herringbone pattern to keep the bricks of the dome from falling to the ground. These construction techniques are common practice today but were revolutionary during Brunelleschi's time.
This is the breathtaking interior of Brunelleschi's dome.
Notre-Dame De Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris is very old, over 800 years old!
Appointed bishop of Paris in 1160, Maurice de Sully decided to give the capital a cathedral worthy of France’s largest city. He wanted to build it in the style of the day, now known as the Gothic style. King Louis VII, one of his classmates, encouraged the project.The Church, notable residents of the city, and the entire population participated in construction: some offered money, others offered their labor, while others offered their knowledge. Construction began in 1163, and Notre-Dame would be completed some 100 years later, in 1272. During this time, many craftsmen’s guilds (tailors, sculptors, carpenters, joiners, masons, and glassblowers) worked relentlessly under the supervision of seasoned architects. They all made an equal contribution to God and to Mary. Mary, Mother of God, to whom Maurice wanted to dedicated the entire cathedral, it was dedicated to her, Notre-Dame de Paris, Our Lady of Paris! At the cathedral, there are no fewer than 37 representations of the Virgin (sculptures,paintings, stained glass, and more).
Above is a picture of Notre-Dame's beautiful rose window from the outside. It looks even more amazing from the inside!The main facade of Notre-Dame also has three horizontal registers, with the entrance portals at the ground floor, topped by a round, centered rose window, which allows light into the nave entrance. The rose window is flanked by bifurcated (two-part) arched windows on either side. The registers are then divided by a frieze of carved figures standing in niches.
This is the nave of Notre-Dame. This type of ceiling is called vaulted, Notre-Dame has flying buttresses on its exterior to help hold it up.
and is similar to others we have seen in class.
On the interior, sophisticated vaulting and supports allowed for larger stained-glass windows that let more light into the building. The vaulted ceilings were more open and spacious than in Romanesque structures, with thinner columns that provided a more "weightless" appearance. The pointed arches also allowed for a taller ceiling and more wall space for fenestration than the Romanesque round arch provided.
These are the Gothic features adapted for use at Notre Dame. With more fenestration came the need for more sophisticated buttressing; the first use of true flying buttresses is found at Notre Dame, where the buttresses are attached to the upper register of the outer clerestory wall and then "fly" out from the wall, attaching again into the outer walls of the lower-level side aisles and area. Pinnacles top the areas where the buttresses angle into the side walls, and these bring more vertical weight down into the wall supports. Flying buttresses are a crucial feature of Gothic architecture. The additional support is certainly needed, given the large windows in relation to the masonry walls. The more traditional attached buttresses, such as are seen at Saint-Étienne at Caen, would have obscured the windows. In addition, Gothic churches are typically built on a Latin-cross plan, with a long vaulted nave flanked by lower side aisles, a transept with side doors at the crossing of the church, and a well-lit choir area, some-times with an ambulatory circling around the choir and chapels radiating from the ambulatory.
St. Denis
St. Denis:
The Abbey Church of Saint Denis, also known as the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis, is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. This site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery, in late Roman times. Around 475 CE, St. Genevieve established a church at this site. In the 7th century, this structure was replaced by a much grander construction, on the orders of Dagobert I, King of the Franks.
The Basilica of Saint Denis is an architectural landmark, the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style. Both stylistically and structurally, it heralded the change from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture. Before the term "Gothic" came into common use, it was known as the "French Style. "
Saint Denis is a patron saint of France and, according to legend, was the first bishop of Paris. Legend relates that he was decapitated on the Hill of Montmartre and subsequently carried his head to the site of the current church, indicating where he wanted to be buried.
Saint Denis Basilica, built under the supervision of Abbot Suger, heralded Europe’s shift from Romanesque to Gothic. The difference can be seen in its pointed arch, the ribbed vault, the ambulatory with radiating chapels, the clustered columns supporting ribs springing in different directions and the flying buttresses which enabled the insertion of large clerestory windows.
The nave of St. Denis is in the shape of the cross.
Be like ancient Rome
Carrying on this Romanesque value, the Gothic looks back to the lost fathers of learning in Rome and Greece for knowledge and wisdom.
“A new nave was also projected, but its construction never progressed beyond the foundations, the remains of which indicate that it would have been atypical for its period in having double side aisles and columnar supports, characteristics that were probably meant to evoke earlier churches either in Rome (e.g. Old Saint Peter’s) or in Paris itself” h
This Basilica is what makes Saint Denis a Cathedral; he is buried under this elaborate concrete memorial.
In the 7th century, at the burial place of Saint Denis, Eligius “fabricated a mausoleum for the holy martyr Denis in the city of Paris with a wonderful marble ciborium over it marvelously decorated with gold and gems. He composed a crest [at the top of a tomb] and a magnificent frontal and surrounded the throne of the altar with golden axes in a circle. He placed golden apples there, round and jeweled. He made a pulpit and a gate of silver and a roof for the throne of the altar on silver axes. He made a covering in the place before the tomb and fabricated an outside altar at the feet of the holy martyr. So much industry did he lavish there, at the king’s request, and poured out so much that scarcely a single ornament was left in Gaul and it is the greatest wonder of all to this very day.”
Florence Cathedral
The eye-catching facade of Florence's Duomo is made of poly-chrome panels of green, white, and red marble. But this design is not the original. The exterior that one sees today was completed only in the late 19th century.
Florence's cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo, is the city's symbol and most recognizable building. This iconic church also has a fascinating history.
Florence's Duomo was built upon the remains of the fourth century cathedral of Santa Reparata. It was initially designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296, but its main feature - the massive dome - was engineered according to the plans of Filippo Brunelleschi. He won the commission to plan and build the dome after winning a design competition, which pitted him against other Florentine artists and architects, including Lorenzo Ghiberti. Work on the dome began in 1420 and was completed in 1436.
Brunelleschi's dome was the most ambitious architectural and engineering projects of its time. Before Brunelleschi submitted his design proposal, the construction of the cathedral's dome had been stalled because it had been determined that building a dome of its size was impossible without the use of flying buttresses. Brunelleschi's understanding of some of the key concepts of physics and geometry helped him solve this problem and win the design competition. His plan for the dome included inner and outer shells which were held together with a ring and rib system. Brunelleschi's plan also employed a herringbone pattern to keep the bricks of the dome from falling to the ground. These construction techniques are common practice today but were revolutionary during Brunelleschi's time.
This is the breathtaking interior of Brunelleschi's dome.